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Stuart Carlisle will lead Zimbabwe A in their matches against Pakistan A © Getty Images

Stuart Carlisle has been named captain of Zimbabwe A for the visit of their Pakistan counterparts. The selectors have named a 15-man squad for the four-day matches and a 14-man squad of the one-day games that follow.The squads include a number of Zimbabwean Test players including Brendan Taylor and Stuart Matsikenyeri, who both struggled against South Africa, and are given an opportunity to hone their skills. Graeme Cremer, the legspinner who came in for some fierce punishment at the hands of Jacques Kallis, will also face the less daunting prospect of Pakistan’s second string.Taylor will share the wicketkeeping duties with Charles Coventry after Tatenda Taibu was not considered for selection to allow him a rest. Macsood Ebrahim, the convenor of selectors, said: “We are going to select the teams on a rotational basis because we want each player in either squad to play at least one game.”The tour runs from May 6-23 with two four-day games at the CFX Academy and Harare, followed by three one-day matches. Four-Day squad Stuart Carlisle (capt), Blessing Mahwire, Brendan Taylor, Mark Vermeulen, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Sean Williams, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Tawanda Mupariwa, Graeme Cremer, Allan Mwayenga, Trevor Gripper, Neil Ferreira, Keith Dabengwa, Anthony Ireland, Charles Coventry.One-Day squad Stuart Carlisle (capt), Blessing Mahwire, Keith Dabengwa, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Brendan Taylor, Mark Vermeulen, Douglas Marillier, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Sean Williams, Tawanda Mupariwa, Anthony Ireland, Ian Nicholson, Gavin Ewing, Charles Coventry.

Ricky Ponting: “I know I’m not going to keep everybody happy” © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting arrived home declaring he still wants to be captain and his team has a burning desire to retrieve the Ashes in 2006-07.The Australians have returned home amid calls for heads to roll after the world champions had gone to England in June with expectations of a comfortable series victory. Ponting has taken much of the blame for the failure with Dennis Lillee calling for Shane Warne to replace him as captain.Ponting confronted a large media pack shortly after his arrival at Sydney Airport and said he wasn’t aware of Lillee’s comments. “I’m not concerned about those things,” he said. “As long as I am doing the right thing by everyone in my dressing room and the team and the coaching staff, well then that’s all I can do.”I know I’m not going to keep everybody happy along the way, I am sure I’ve done things even before this series that other people haven’t been that happy with. But as long as I am looking after the guys in my dressing room, then I’ll be happy.”Ponting, who was criticised for conservative field placements and bowling changes, said he wanted to remain in charge. “I still want to be captain,” he said. “It’s a 2-1 series defeat, it’s not as if we have been completely wiped off the planet and it’s not as if we have to make wholesale changes to our set-up.”Hopefully, I will keep the job. I’ve loved doing it, love every opportunity I have to captain Australia. It’s one of the best jobs in world sport, there’s no doubt about that, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. In saying that, it wasn’t all that enjoyable over the last couple of weeks, but it’s going down as one of the all-time great series and it’s been great to be a part of it.”Ponting responded to Lillee’s comments that Warne should be captain, and that he made more decisions than Ponting during the series: “I like to talk to a lot of guys out on the field and use their ideas and thoughts. I’ll go to Gilly [Adam Gilchrist] and even Matty Hayden, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn. The guys who’ve been around cricket for a while, I like to hear what their thoughts on the game are.”The way I think is not going to be right 100% of the time, but that’s the way I do it. Shane has got a cricket brain as good as anybody around. But I wouldn’t agree [he was the pseudo captain].”Ponting admitted England had outplayed Australia in the series and he will sit down with team management and go over what went wrong. “We said all the right things and we trained very hard right through the tour, everything was as it would normally be,” he said. “But it was in the crucial moments where we didn’t stand up and that’s unusual for this team.”Ponting said there was a burning desire within the team to regain the Ashes when the series resumes in Australia late next year. “I rate our chances very highly of getting the Ashes back,” he said. “It’s only 15 months away and I know the feelings around our dressing room were poor and that’s the way they should have been, but there’s a burning desire to get those Ashes back very soon.”Adam Gilchrist, the vice-captain, said in the that he had the “utmost support for Ricky”. “I’d be really disappointed if this turns into some sort of public slanging match over who should be or shouldn’t be leading the team,” he said. “Ricky has been an outstanding captain up to this point and will continue to be so. He has the whole team’s backing, I’m certain of that.”

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South Australia had lots to cheer in their game against Western Australia at the Adelaide Oval© Getty Images

Marcus North and Brad Hogg prevented a collapse as Western Australia tightened their grasp at the end of the second day against South Australia at Adelaide Oval today. SA lost two wickets late in the day and as they set off chasing 324 in the final innings.WA had a great day in the field and bundled out SA for just 131 in their first innings. Steve Magoffin led the rout by picking up 4 for 0 in a 10-ball burst as the last seven wickets fell for just 38. Magoffin, who is playing only his first season, finished with 4-27, his best return.SA hit back through Shaun Tait and Paul Rofe and slumped to 5 for 41, but Hogg and North stemmed the rot. Hogg made 61 in just 55 balls while North was more sedate in his 67.

Sourav Ganguly: will he open the batting at Rawalpindi?© AFP

There is so much happening so fast at the Pindi Cricket Stadium that it is increasingly difficult to sort out fact from fiction. Sourav Ganguly, back at the helm of the Indian team, said that he might open the batting with Virender Sehwag. The pitch has had so little mowing that from a distance it’s difficult to make out the batting strip from the rest of the field. The Pakistan camp is riddled with injuries to their key bowlers while the sole unaffected bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, is beginning to find the rhythm that has made him a huge force in international cricket. The final Test is going to be a showdown, a streetfight, a battle to the end.To fight this battle the Indian think-tank has, in its infinite wisdom, chosen an unusual XI. As expected, they have split the successful opening partnership of Aakash Chopra and Sehwag. Yuvraj Singh, who was picked in the squad as a reserve opener, may take his place. Worse still, Ganguly said, “It is a hard decision. When we chose Yuvraj in the squad ahead of Sadagoppan Ramesh, he [Yuvraj] had agreed to open the innings. But he has played really well in the middle order so either he or I will open the innings. In the long run Yuvraj has to look at himself as an opening batsman.” Ganguly conceded, “I am not a Test opener, but if I do open it will be a one-off thing in the interest of the team.”India continue to believe in a bat-first policy and it is an adventurous step to replace the steady Chopra with the impetuous Yuvraj at the top of the order. If it succeeds, the Yuvraj-Sehwag partnership will be a delight for a public lusting after fours and sixes, but that is an irrelevant point. The team has to think first about the business of winning Test matches, not entertaining crowds. “Chopra is unlucky to miss out, but you can’t drop batsmen who have made Test hundreds,” said Ganguly. Yuvraj made a conscious decision to open the batting for Punjab in the last Ranji season and the results were encouraging. He made 138 against Delhi, 80 against Railways, and 38 in a low-scoring game against Andhra Pradesh. But he did not have to face Shoaib steaming in and letting the ball rip at close to 100mph in domestic cricket.

Shoaib Akhtar and John Wright discuss strategy on the eve of the decider© AFP

In a departure from tradition the Indian captain announced the final XI in his pre-match press conference. Chopra, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Murali Kartik and Mohammad Kaif are the five who miss out. Ashish Nehra, who many reckon should have played in the second Test itself, comes into the team in place of Agarkar, who bowed ineffectively in that match. Anil Kumble holds his spot as the sole spinner in the team and that is only understandable given the nature of the pitch.Though there is plenty of live grass on the track, both Ganguly and John Wright feel that it will turn brown before the first day is out. It has been ferociously hot during the day, with temperatures inching towards 40 degrees Celsius. This will take a toll on the pitch, making it progressively batsman-friendly. Local experts reckon that the bounce will be even for the best part of the game, unlike at Lahore where the ball began to keep low from the second day itself.There’s more pressure on Shoaib in the final Test, with Umar Gul out of the game with a bad back. However, there’s no shortage of firepower in the squad. Pakistan will have to choose from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Fazl-e-Akbar and Rao Iftikhar Anjum. Naved is likely to get the nod. The confirmation that Mohammad Sami is fit to play is a confidence-booster to the Pakistan team. India, on the other hand, have had a tricky decision to make, and know at the back of their minds that they might have got it wrong.Pakistan (likely) 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Yasir Hameed, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Yousuf Youhana, 6 Asim Kamal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 9 Mohammad Sami, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Danish Kaneria.India 1 Yuvraj Singh, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Lakshmipathy Balaji, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Shane Warne has a discussion with Neil Mallender as the situation grew farcical © Getty Images

The season ended with frustration and a few tantrums at The Rose Bowl after Shane Warne made clear his anger at Lancashire’s refusal to declare and set Hampshire a target to chase.Lancashire had already lost out on the title to Sussex, but they had made their runners-up position safe earlier in this game when Hampshire failed to secure maximum bonus points. Warne clearly hoped that there would be a declaration and a run chase, but Mark Chilton opted to bat on as Lancashire ended the day on 339 for 6, a lead of 562.Warne, however, did not appreciate the thinking behind the decision. “Coming into the day and after losing a day through rain, we thought we were going to get a game. It got to the stage where they were 430 ahead with 60 overs left and still didn’t declare. It was ridiculous. I started throwing some lob-ups to see if they wanted any more runs but that didn’t work.”Shortly after lunch there was a surreal five-over period where Warne and others deliberately offered up a series of ridiculous deliveries in an apparent protest. Warne himself sent down a succession of bouncers and was no-balled for throwing the ball from a standing start.Chilton admitted that he perhaps should have done more to make a game of it. “We definitely didn’t want to lose the game so we were going to bat ourselves into a very strong position,” he said. “After lunch there was a window of opportunity in which we could, and should have perhaps, declared. But after Hampshire started throwing the bowl 20 feet into the air we decided it would be inappropriate.”I’m not proud of what happened but I feel sorry for all the spectators that made the journey and I hope this doesn’t cloud what has been a great season for us. If I could have the time again, I would have done it differently and I will learn from things like this.”Warne, meanwhile, said that the umpires had congratulated his side on their conduct. “We did everything we could to get a game but I was disappointed for the crowd who had come to see what happened.”

New Zealand 201 for 3 (Styris 118*) trail South Africa 296 (Smith 88, Gibbs 80, Martin 6-76) by 95 runs
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Chris Martin: wrecked the South African line-up with some superb seam bowling© AFP

Chris Martin’s medium-pace caused a South African collapse in the morning, then Scott Styris hammered a breezy hundred as New Zealand fought back strongly on the second day at Auckland. Having restricted South Africa to 296, New Zealand were in a dicey position at 12 for 2, but Styris defied the bowlers with an aggressive 118, and by the end of the day his side were only 95 behind.Styris didn’t hold back, even when Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini moved the ball around. He attacked David Terbrugge with shots all around the wicket, and blasted Nicky Boje out of the attack. As his innings progressed, the bowling lost its sheen. Even Pollock, after a fine first spell, sprayed it around in his second stint as the score rolled along. Styris and Craig McMillan stepped on the pedal as the day wore on: they put on 64 in just 11.3 overs.In an attempt to make the most of the overcast conditions, the South African bowlers pitched the ball up to the bat, and Styris capitalised, creaming the half-volleys neatly. He also used the angles of the oddly shaped Eden Park ground shrewdly. Flicks and glides raced away, and some of his cover-drives were gorgeous. He bludgeoned Boje for a huge six, and brought up his third Test century with a majestic cover-drive. He had some good support, too. Mark Richardson made a patient 45, and McMillan (31 not out) joined in with bubbly enthusiasm. Richardson, though, threw it away as he slashed at a wide one from Kallis, and Herschelle Gibbs pouched the straightforward chance (137 for 3).Styris put New Zealand in control but it was Martin who had begun the rescue job. He deceived Jacques Kallis with a crafty legcutter – Kallis departed for 40, his quest for that record-equalling sixth century in as many Tests postponed to the second innings – lured Jacques Rudolph into a booming drive, baited Mark Boucher and Neil McKenzie into uppish drives, and polished Ntini off for a second-ball duck. Add Grame Smith’s wicket, which he snared yesterday, and his fine exhibition of swing and seam bowling was rewarded with 6 for 76. All that came after spraying it around on the first morning and being collared by Gibbs and Smith.Rudolph fell in the third over of the day, trying to wallop a full-pitched one. The edge flew to Michael Papps at third slip (235 for 3). Kirsten, playing in his 100th Test, made just 1 before Jacob Oram sneaked one through the gate – the ball cut in a shade after pitching and clipped the top of off stump (236 for 4).But the big one came in the next over. Martin bowled a few good incutters to Kallis, before delivering one that held its line. Kallis played inside the line of the ball and the edge was acrobatically collected by Brendon McCullum (240 for 5).

Shaun Pollock leaps for joy at passing Allan Donald’s career total of 331 wickets for South Africa© AFP

Boucher swished at a wide one while Pollock missed a straight ball that kept a shade low (273 for 7). But Martin wasn’t finished yet, and he completed the turnaround by nailing McKenzie and Ntini, before South Africa were finally all out for 296. Only 65 had been added to the overnight total, and South Africa had lost 10 wickets for 119 runs. This was partly due to the overcast conditions, but was mainly down to the complete change in the New Zealand bowlers’ discipline.South Africa’s opening bowlers continued in similar vein. Pollock snapped up his 331st Test wicket, passing Allan Donald to become the highest wicket-taker for his country, with a near-perfect legcutter. Papps had to play at it, and the edge was easily taken at second slip. Stephen Fleming poked at one tentatively and Kallis latched on as the ball was screaming past him (12 for 2).At that point, ten wickets had fallen in the day. But only one more fell afterwards, and Scott Styris’s attacking methods were chiefly responsible for that.

New Zealand will be spending eight days in Brisbane as build-up to their tour of India. The side, which is expected to be named later this week, will have from September 10-18 in Brisbane before returning home for a few days. They will fly out for India on September 21.Team manager Lindsay Crocker returned today from a trip to England, where he and acting coach Ashley Ross met with new team coach John Bracewell and captain Stephen Fleming, and India where Crocker met with Jagmohan Dalmiya and the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s operations manager Kunal Ghosh.He said there were several options open to the side for their practice but the closeness of Brisbane, and contacts he had with Queensland Cricket from his time as chief executive for Auckland Cricket, made it a good connection.”We need to get outside and stretch the bowlers’ legs while also building up their workloads. It will also give the batsmen a chance to bat in outside conditions,” Crocker said. “We will also work with the Queensland Bulls squad while at Allan Border Field.”It wouldn’t necessarily be all the touring party who went, he said, as someone like Fleming or Chris Cairns, who have been playing county cricket in England might prefer the break.”We did look to going to India earlier but it is still wet in some places there and it was too risky. We will still have 15 days there to acclimatise before the first Test. But in Brisbane the bowlers will be able to come in off their full run-ups and any variations they need to make to the length of their bowling can be worked on during their time in India,” Crocker said.New Zealand were happy with the itinerary for the tour, especially now that Ahmedabad Test had been confirmed. Crocker said his visit was not to inspect venues but to meet with Indian officials and deal with some of the logistics of the tour. It was already apparent to him that there is a great deal of interest in India in the tour.Australian officials have been looking into the venues for their visit there as part of the tri-series to be played in India and would be assisting New Zealand with information for their games.

Derbyshire are almost certain to agree to Dominic Cork’s request to be released from the remaining two years of his contract later today. Although Cork signed a new contract in June, he is reportedly “deeply offended” by a perceived snub from Derbyshire’s new director of cricket, Dave Houghton.Houghton has made no decision about the captaincy for the 2004 season, something that has deeply angered Cork. “Of course I see a role for [Cork]; he’s a fantastic cricketer who is highly regarded and respected,” said Houghton. “Whether that’s in a leadership role as captain or not we’ll have to see after our discussion.”But relations between the county and Cork, 32, appear to be irreconcilable, and a parting is now inevitable. Cork will have to buy himself out of the contract, as John Crawley did when he left Lancashire at the end of the 2001 season.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has reunited members of the 1963-64 Sheffield Shield winning South Australian team, 40 years after their victorious season.Captained by former Australian Test player Les Favell, who passed away in 1987, the South Australian team beat Victoria in their last game of the season to clinch the Shield, just 6 points ahead of Victoria. At that time there was no final contested to win the Sheffield Shield.Starring for South Australia in that match, which was played at Adelaide Oval from February 21-24, was Sir Garfield Sobers, who scored 124 runs and took 6 wickets. That season, Gary Sobers scored 973 runs at an average of 74.84 and took 47 wickets at an average of 27.59.SACA vice president Rex Sellers also starred with the ball that season taking 46 wickets at an average of 26.63.The reunion, to take place at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow night (January 31), will see players from that season re-live their winning performances, in their first get together since the 1960s.The evening also will see members of the 1963-64 team present the 2003-04 Redbacks squad with their SACA baggy red caps.The 1963-64 team was:

Les Favell (c)	Sir Garfield Sobers
Ian Chappell	John Lill
Hon Ian McLachlan	Neil Dansie
Neil Hawke	Barry Jarman
Brian Hurn	Rex Sellers
Gordon Brooks	Ken Cunningham
Robert Lloyd	David Sincock

Of that team Les Favell, Ian Chappell, Barry Jarman, Neil Hawke, David Sincock and Rex Sellers all played Test cricket for Australia, with Sir Garfield Sobers playing 93 Tests for the West Indies.Players attending the dinner include Barry Jarman, Neil Dansie, David Sincock, Ken Cunningham, Rex Sellers and Ian McLachlan.Former Australian Test captain, Ian Chappell, the youngest member of that team, can not attend the reunion dinner, although will visit Adelaide for a cocktail function with his former team mates before flying interstate for work commitments.SACA president Ian McLachlan said these reunions are very important because it perpetuates the cohesiveness of the Association."These events are particularly important to continue the tradition and sense of family at the SACA and to ensure our wins of the past are celebrated.""We had tremendous fun in those days and looking back we can see that cricket is a fabulous game for friendships. Many of us have made life-long friendships through our days playing cricket.""We will have a real blend of the young and old there tomorrow night – and of course the old blokes think the younger blokes can’t play and the young blokes `know’ the older blokes can’t play, and exaggeration will win the night!"

Bournemouth are shaping up for a long overdue challenge in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League after dominating neighbours Bashley (Rydal) in the last of the initial batch of 50-over matches.A 50-run victory brought Bournemouth a third successive win – and, when the nine-week stint of all-day matches begin next Saturday, the confidence to interrupt the Havant-BAT Sports monopoly of Premier League affairs for the past three seasons.With twice-champions Havant losing by three wickets at South Wilts, Bournemouth and BAT are now the only unbeaten Division 1 clubs. "I think we’re up for it this season," says skipper Matt Swarbrick."This is the best side we’ve had since we won the old Southern League championship back in 1996 and I fancy we’ll be challenging."We’ve got a nice blend : plenty of experience – a top ex-pro in Richard Scott and a quality overseas player in Adam Voges. And plenty of others who can play a bit as well."Bashley, in contrast, have started badly – a third defeat in four suggesting that they are going to have to get their heads down to avert a struggle for ECB survival.The margin of Bournemouth’s victory at the BCG was more emphatic than the 50-run statistic suggests.The game was in the balance for 20 overs or so, but once Geoff Warrington and Richard Scott had steadied an uncertain 73-3, Bournemouth gained command and went on to post an unassailable 252-9 off 50 oversBournemouth owed much to their fourth-wicket pair, whose 126-run partnership effectively put Bashley out of the reckoning.Bournemouth lost Matt Swarbrick second ball and teenager Nick Park at 58-2, but were buoyed by the class of Western Australia’s Adam Voges.The former Australia Under-19 all-rounder survived a missed run-out and a spill at mid-on, but caught the eye with several imperious shots.He got off the mark with a blistering on-boundary drive and soon afterwards sent a venomous hook for six so far over the square-leg boundary that play was delayed for almost ten minutes while spectators searched to retrieve the ball !To Bashley’s relief, Voges tried one ambitious shot too many and was trapped leg before attempting to whip a Matt King delivery off his pads.Bournemouth lost the momentum for a while – King frequently beating the outside of Warrington’s bat – but once the fourth-wicket duo played themselves in, the runs began to flow.Scott, in particular, was timing the ball sweetly; Warrington hitting straight and hard – frequently to the boundary.Bashley rotated their bowlers – seven in all – but were unable to stem the tide – Scott piercing the ropes with a six and seven fours, and Warrington hammering three sixes and ten boundaries.It took an outstanding one-handed catch by Kevin Nash six overs before tea to remove Scott for a splendid 62.But Warrington plundered on, cracking a league best 91 before King rearranged his stumps at 237-8.Nash picked up 4-40 as late wickets tumbled, while Joe Wilson scored his first league runs since August 2001 as Bournemouth closed at a formidable 252-9.With a player of Luke Ronchi’s quality in their armoury, Bashley might have been optimistic of challenging the Bournemouth total.But with the Western Australian starlet wintering at the famous Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Adelaide and his overseas replacement Brad Thompson nursing a badly broken finger, they had neither the depth – nor any real confidence in their batting – to muster anything significant.They began well enough through Chris Sketchley (27), but wickets fell all too easily – Dorset left-armers David Kidner and Martin Mixer taking two each as Bashley lurched to 72-5.Stephen Phelps, who played County Championship cricket for Glamorgan in the mid-1990s, hit 23 before perishing leg before at 93-6.As Bournemouth relaxed their grip, so Neil Taylor (43) and Shaun Lilley (26) used their experience to add an air of respectability to the run chase.Although they added 58, the outcome was inevitable – Scott (3-34), the former Hampshire and Gloucestershire all-rounder, completing a good day’s work with the last two wickets as Bashley were dismissed for 202.